Wedding V

And then, finally, it was the big day. I woke, feeling like absolute shxt, to be perfectly honest. Cold sweats, hot shivers, stomach pains. The whole works: I felt like I had flu. My sisters got into bed with me and massaged my legs and my shoulders and then Mum and Dad and Alex came into the bedroom too with their tea and I had a good old cry about this being the last time we would be together as a family and, after a healthy dose of painkillers, started to feel a bit better. Grannie and Grandpa came over and made coffee and then the hard work began.

I started out helping in the marquee with the laying of tables but was quickly chased back upstairs to wash my hair and have a shower. In fact, Francesca, my makeup artist arrived promptly at 10am and was horrified to find me still in my pyjamas, dirty hair and helping the girls in the marquee.

Two hours later and that is the reason why you have a professional hair and makeup artist. Francesca was brilliant: calmly and quickly my hair had been dried and styled and she had applied beautiful but natural looking makeup. Her assistant even removed my old toenail varnish as I had not even had time to stop for a manicure the day before.

Of course, during this time, the bridesmaids were also getting ready: doing their own hair and makeup between them and curling their hair. I had been in the master bedroom which Mum and Dad then needed so there were 6 of us cramped into a small twin bedroom, people fighting for mirror space. Francesca and her assistant, Tara, are actually friends of mine, so after my makeup and hair was finished they turned back into regular guests who needed to get ready.

And then, all too quickly, the wedding car was here and it was time to leave for the service.